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“Guys are flying around because they are so excited. It’s football time.” – “Football Night’s” Rodney Harrrison on the preseason

NEW YORK – Aug. 17, 2010 – The “Sunday Night Football” preseason schedule continues this Sunday as Frank Gore and the San Francisco 49ers host Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings. Coverage on NBC begins at 8 p.m. ET. Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth will have the call from Candlestick Park in San Francisco with Andrea Kremer handling the reporting duties.

DUNGY AND HARRISON IN THE BOOTH: Emmy-nominatedTony Dungy and Rodney Harrison, analysts from NBC Sports’ critically acclaimed NFL studio show “Football Night in America” will join Al and Cris in the booth during the second half of the game.

COSTAS INTERVIEW WITH SHANAHAN AT HALFTIME: Bob Costas, host of “Football Night in America,” interviewed new Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan earlier this week. Shanahan talked about, among other things, his firing from Denver and working with new Redskins QB Donovan McNabb and DL Albert Haynesworth. That interview will air at halftime of the Vikings-49ers “Sunday Night Football” game.

COACH SINGLETARY MIC’D FOR SOUND: 49ers head coach Mike Singletary will wear a wireless microphone during the game to provide sounds of the game for the SNF broadcast.

HARRISON ON PLAYING PRESEASON GAMES: “Veterans and rookies are excited for preseason games because all the hard work during the off-season and training camp finally starts to pay off. The games establish something; they make a statement. Sometimes the games tell you what type of a team you are going to have or what type of a player you are going to be. Guys are flying around because they are so excited. It’s football time.”

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NFL SEASON OPENS ON NBC ON SEPT. 9: The NFL will open the 2010 season on NBC, Thursday, Sept. 9, with the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints hosting the NFC North champion Minnesota Vikings, who the Saints defeated in the NFC Championship game last season, 31-28. The first “Sunday Night Football” contest of the season is a classic NFC East rivalry as the Washington Redskins with their new QB Donovan McNabb and head coach Mike Shanahan host Tony Romo and the NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys.

“SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” 2010 SEASON: Three appearances each by six marquee NFL teams, the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers; a rematch of the NFC Championship Game as the Super Bowl XLIV champion New Orleans Saints host the Minnesota Vikings in the opening Thursday night game; the “Manning Bowl” rematch in Week 2; and storied rivalries including three NFC East games, Chargers-Colts, Vikings-Packers at Lambeau, Steelers-Ravens and Jets-Dolphins highlight the “Sunday Night Football” schedule.

Highlights of “Sunday Night Football” schedule:

Sixteen of NBC’s 17 scheduled games involve at least one playoff team from last season; eight of 17 include two playoff teams.

Fourteen of the 17 teams playing on “Sunday Night Football” had .500 or better records.

A rematch of last year’s NFC Championship game between the Vikings and Saints to kickoff the NFL season on Thursday night, Sept. 9.

Peyton and Eli meet in the anticipated rematch of the “Manning Bowl” when the Giants and Colts face off in Week 2. They last met in the network debut of “Sunday Night Football” in 2006 in a game that was seen by 22.6 million viewers, the third-most ever in the history of “Sunday Night Football.” Six SNF games involve one of the Manning brothers.

A matchup of two of the oldest NFL teams when the Bears and Giants meet in Week 4 in the New Meadowlands Stadium. The Bears-Giants rivalry dates back to 1925.

Three matchups among bitter NFC East rivals: Cowboys-Redskins, Giants-Eagles, and Eagles-Cowboys.

The first “Sunday Night Football” trips to New Orleans, Cincinnati, San Francisco and Miami.

NBC Sports is synonymous with superior production that elevates the event, broad promotion, and mutually-beneficial partnerships. Known as America’s Olympic Network, NBC has broadcast 12 Olympic Games, more than any other network. Its ability to amass large audiences with broad promotion, particularly for the Olympics, has resulted in NBC Sports broadcasting nine of the top 10 most-watched events in U.S. television history, including the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games which stands at No. 1 all time with 215 million viewers. In 2009, NBC Sports won the prestigious Peabody Award for its production of the Beijing Games and was named ‘Best in Sports Television’ at the Sports Business Awards.

NBC Sports partners with numerous leagues and governing bodies to broadcast some of the most prestigious properties in sports, including: ‘NBC Sunday Night Football,’ which is the premier primetime NFL game of the week; ‘Football Night in America,’ which is the most-watched NFL studio program; Notre Dame football; the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes; the U.S. Open Championship, THE PLAYERS Championship, and the Ryder Cup; the NHL Winter Classic, NHL ‘Game of the Week,’ and NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and Final; and Wimbledon and the French Open.